All too often we see people who come to church with a true desire to be followers of Christ. They come because they’re searching, because of conviction, to be part of an extended family, to worship God, for comfort of familiar associations; they come because they love God and want to grow closer to Him and serve. They come to the local church and someone says “Hi! Nice to see you, glad you're here!”, shakes a hand and returns to business as usual leaving the would-be disciple standing on the sidelines. Now what?
In my own experience, it is the ordinary church people who take time to greet and talk to these people who have the greatest effect on newcomers. That’s not to say that greeters aren’t necessary or effective. They should be there and should be trained to assist with whatever a person might need, whether it be guidance to a Bible study (Sunday school) class, directions to the rest rooms, finding a seat, assisting people with special needs, etc. But in the typical Sunday rush at many churches, there simply are too many people and not enough time or greeters to engage individuals in any meaningful way.
What happens next? The newcomers and/or new believers often are left to flounder. Many become disillusioned at the seeming aloofness or even hostility of the congregation and don’t come back. Some may attend services for a short time but soon realize that they’re simply “putting in time” and not really finding the fulfillment of Christian fellowship, growth or service. Their sense of emptiness in the church grows and nags at them. This often results in many disillusioned people who move on to another church or even worse, eventually forsake church involvement altogether.
Then there are far too many church people who have only heard the blessed, good-time part of the story and don’t realize that salvation comes with a hefty price tag of trials and persecution. These unfortunate souls have wandered into the wrong kind of church. Jesus said: if the world hates me they’re going to hate you too. The first time the going gets rough these folks bail out because nobody told them “it won’t be easy”. We won’t deal with those folks here this time around.
The problem of exclusion or sidelining is greatly compounded by the current “Megachurch Mania” sweeping through many Christian communities. In such a statistic-obsessed environment the pastoral staff is often isolated from the congregants while they, the staff, are busy “doing church”. Pastors and other staff members are so busy with administrative, legal, facility and other chores they have little or no time remaining for the primary pastoral duty of “shepherding the flock”. Such a church often is just too big and the recidivism rates among new converts bears this out. The last reliable statistic obtainable stated that within one year, over 82% of all those brought into God’s family had dropped-out, and this was just within the largest Protestant denomination in America (You can figure out which one). If the statistics were compiled for other Christian denominations I think the data would probably be similar and just as upsetting.
What is the fundamental mission of the church? A healthy church body that is fulfilling Christ's "Great Commission" will be a church out on the street helping the Holy Spirit to win souls for the Lord, God. A church that is focused on its mission will have support structures to deal with new arrivals and new Christians. These need not be elaborate nor even formal “ministries”. A church focused on ministering to its members, newbies and the community at the practical level will have no problem sustaining or achieving good growth numbers at a reasonable rate according to God’s timetable. He’s still in charge, after all.
Here are some ideas:
1. Small Groups- The “small group” ministry is a good tool where believers may get to know other believers and build a nucleus of their church family. Small Groups give believers, both new and those more mature in their faith, opportunities to extend their family on more intimate terms than what may be possible in the church at large. While small groups are definitely a good aspect of church life, they still don’t always answer the needs of the new Christian or the people looking for a new church home in a new town. Such people still need direct interaction with other people, not necessarily a group, until they feel comfortable enough to join in a group or other church activities. This assumes that they find the church meets their needs in the first place (whatever they are) and decide to stay. The process of choosing a new church family is totally subjective and totally between them and God. The two major pitfalls of the small group are mainly:
- a. A lot of people can’t or don’t want to get involved. Some people just don’t do well in group situations. I personally prefer to make friends the old fashioned way and let relationships develop as God directs; this includes group involvement.
- b. The group can be, and very often is, a ready-made clique. Members may never get out of their security zone and get involved with others in the church.
3. Lay Pastors- This is a concept woefully under-utilized by the Christian community.That’s sad because there are people present in your church right now who are itching to start a ministry effort and whom God could use effectively if given the chance. Lay pastors can fill the growing gap between a busy pastoral staff and the congregation. Just make sure they have the authority to back up their responsibility. Their effectiveness can be severely undermined if they repeatedly have to go running back to the senior (read: ordained) staff for approvals or to resolve other issues. There are solutions.....if you care to take up the challenge of seeking them.
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